Tammy Faye: Family Helps Me Fight the Pain

In her valiant battle against the pain and weight loss from cancer, Tammy Faye Messner says her family, friends and faith are sustaining her.

In a letter on her Web site dated Monday and addressed to "Dear Friends," Messner, 65, says she has been in bed for nearly a year and on some days "I felt so terrible with my back and stomach that I have hardly been able to breath (sic).

"I cry out to the Lord knowing that many of you are praying for me. In spite of it all, I get dressed and go out to eat."

Messner says her husband, Roe Messner, has built her a new house in Kansas City and calls it "the most beautiful home I have ever seen." Her daughter by her previous husband (the Rev. Jim Bakker), Tammy Sue, is taking care of her along with a friend, Daina.

"My daughter is here a lot of the times to give me my medications and to make sure I don't forget," writes Messner. "When I got sick, she literally moved in and gave me hugs and kisses that are so needful during this period of one[']s life."

Messner has been told by doctors that there no longer is any medical treatment that would help her. She was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 1996 and told that it had spread to her lungs in 2004.

In her latest message, Messner says she has trouble getting herself to eat, but "through all the prayers, I have finally gained some weight. I have gone from 60 pounds to 65, for which I am very thankful."

She adds, "I crave hamburgers and French fries with LOTS of ketchup. When I can eat that again, it will be a day of victory!"

She closes with a note of optimism and humor: "I will let you know when I get to eat my hamburger! HA!" She signs off with, "Love, Tammy Faye."